Adderley is remembered for his 1966 single "Mercy Mercy Mercy", a crossover hit on the pop charts, and for his work with trumpeter Miles Davis, including on the epochal album Kind of Blue (1959). He was the brother of jazz cornetist Nat Adderley, a longtime member of his band.
The name 'Canonball' is supposed to have originated from his being nicknamed 'cannibal' in his youth, on account of his prodigious eating
Early life and career
Originally from Tampa, Florida, Adderley moved to New York in the mid-1950s. His nickname derived originally from "cannibal", a title imposed on him by high school colleagues as a tribute to his voracious appetite.
His educational career was long established prior to teaching applied instrumental music classes at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Cannonball moved to Tallahassee, Florida when his parents obtained teaching positions at Florida A&M University. Both Cannonball and brother Nat played with Ray Charles when Charles lived in Tallahassee during the early 1940s. Cannonball was a local legend in Florida until he moved to New York City in 1955, where he lived in Corona, Queens.
It was in New York during this time that Adderley's prolific career began. Adderley visited the Cafe Bohemia, where Oscar Pettiford's group was playing that night. Adderley had brought his saxophone into the club with him, primarily because he feared that it would be stolen, and he was asked to sit in as the saxophone player was late. That performance established his reputation.
Prior to joining Miles Davis' band, Adderley formed his own group with his brother Nat after signing onto the Savoy jazz label in 1957. He was noticed by Miles Davis, and it was because of his blues-rooted alto saxophone that Davis asked him to play with his group.
Adderley joined the Miles Davis Sextet in October 1957, three months prior to John Coltrane's return to the group. Adderley played on the seminal Davis records Milestones and Kind of Blue. This period also overlapped with pianist Bill Evans' time with the sextet, an association that led to recording Portrait of Cannonball and Know What I Mean?.
His interest as an educator carried over to his recordings. In 1961, Cannonball narrated The Child's Introduction to Jazz, released on Riverside Records.
Band leader
The Cannonball Adderley Quintet featured Cannonball on alto sax and his brother Nat Adderley on cornet. Cannonball's first quintet was not very successful; however, after leaving Davis' group, he formed another, again with his brother, which enjoyed more success.
Later life
By the end of the 1960s, Adderley's playing began to reflect the influence of the electric jazz, avant-garde, and Davis' experiments on the album Bitches Brew. On his albums from this period, such as Accent on Africa (1968) and The Price You Got to Pay to Be Free (1970), he began doubling on soprano saxophone, showing the influence of Coltrane and Wayne Shorter. In that same year, his quintet appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival in California, and a brief scene of that performance was featured in the 1971 psychological thriller Play Misty for Me, starring Clint Eastwood. In 1975 he also appeared (in an acting role alongside Jose Feliciano and David Carradine) in the episode "Battle Hymn" in the third season of the TV series Kung Fu.
Joe Zawinul's composition "Cannon Ball" (recorded on Weather Report's album Black Market) is a tribute to his former leader. Pepper Adams and George Mraz dedicated the composition "Julian" on the 1975 Pepper Adams album (also called "Julian") days after Cannonball's death.
Songs made famous by Adderley and his bands include "This Here" (written by Bobby Timmons), "The Jive Samba", "Work Song" (written by Nat Adderley), "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" (written by Joe Zawinul) and "Walk Tall" (written by Zawinul, Marrow and Rein). A cover version of Pops Staples' "Why (Am I Treated So Bad)?" also entered the charts.
Adderley was initiated as an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity (Gamma Theta chapter, University of North Texas, '60, & Xi Omega chapter, Frostburg State University, '70) and Alpha Phi Alpha (Beta Nu chapter, Florida A&M University).
Adderley died of a stroke in 1975. He was buried in the Southside Cemetery, Tallahassee, Florida. Later that year he was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.
I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry
Cannonball Adderley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It′s worth its heartache in ransom
And when the twilight steals
I know how the lady in the harbor feels
When I want rain I get sunny weather
I'm just as blue as the sky
Since love is gone can′t pull myself together
Guess I'll hang my tears out to dry
Friends ask me out
I tell them I'm busy
I must get a new alibi
I stay at home and ask myself where is he
Guess I′ll hang my tears out to dry
Dry little teardrops
Hanging on a string of dreams
Fly little memories
My little memories
Remind him of our crazy schemes
Somebody said just forget about him
So I gave that treatment a try
Strangely enough I got along without him
Then one day he passed me right by
Oh well I
Guess I′ll hang my tears out to dry
The lyrics of Cannonball Adderley's song "I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry" convey the pain and heartache of lost love. The torch that the singer carries represents the love that he had, and though it's beautiful, it comes with its own share of heartache. The reference to the lady in the harbor is a nod to the Statue of Liberty, which represents freedom and hope, but also the sadness that comes with leaving behind the old country and starting anew.
Throughout the song, the singer speaks of the dichotomy of his feelings. He wants rain but gets sunshine instead, a metaphor for his desire to be sad and wallow in his pain, but instead finding himself feeling better. He acknowledges his sadness, the fact that he can't pull himself together after the end of the relationship, but also tries to keep up appearances in front of his friends. He stays at home and thinks about where his love has gone, a sign of the depression that has taken hold of him.
The line "Guess I'll hang my tears out to dry" is the refrain that repeats throughout the song, and it means that the singer has given up. He cannot continue to cry and mourn the loss of his love; he has to hang his tears out to dry and move on. The final stanza of the song reveals the irony of the situation. Once the singer began to forget his lost love, they showed up again, causing him to feel the pain of that loss all over again.
In summary, "I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry" is a poignant, deeply emotional song that addresses the feelings of heartache and loss that come with the end of a relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
The torch I carry is handsome
The feelings and memories that I hold on to are beautiful.
It's worth its heartache in ransom
Despite the pain it brings me, the memories and feelings are valuable to me.
And when the twilight steals
When the day turns into night, and darkness sets in.
I know how the lady in the harbor feels
I can relate to the statue of liberty standing in the harbor, as we both wait for something or someone that may never come.
When I want rain I get sunny weather
When I feel sad and want to cry, everything around me seems happy.
I'm just as blue as the sky
Despite the happiness around me, I still feel incredibly sad.
Since love is gone can't pull myself together
I am unable to gather my emotions and move on since love is no longer present in my life.
Guess I'll hang my tears out to dry
I'll hold on to my sadness and let it show, for everyone to see.
Friends ask me out
People in my life invite me to go out and have fun.
I tell them I'm busy
I make excuses to avoid social interactions and prefer to be alone.
I must get a new alibi
I need to come up with new excuses to prevent people from realizing that I'm just burying my sadness.
I stay at home and ask myself where is he
I remain at home, consumed by my thoughts and asking myself where the person I once loved went.
Dry little teardrops
The tears I hold back from showing and let dry on my face.
Hanging on a string of dreams
The tears representing the hopes and dreams I have for the future, which are slowly fading away.
Fly little memories
My memories of the past, which I try to let go.
My little memories
The memories that hurt me, causing me to feel alone and abandoned.
Remind him of our crazy schemes
My memories only serve to remind me of the times I spent with the person I once loved, and how foolish we were to believe that we could make it work.
Somebody said just forget about him
Someone suggested that I try to move on and forget about the person who brought me so much pain.
So I gave that treatment a try
I tried to move on from him and forget about the pain he caused.
Strangely enough I got along without him
Surprisingly, I managed to live my life without him, despite the pain it caused me.
Then one day he passed me right by
The person who caused me so much pain crossed paths with me as if nothing ever happened.
Oh well I guess I'll hang my tears out to dry
I'll continue to hold on to my sadness, and let the world see the pain and heartache he caused me.
Writer(s): Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne
Contributed by Penelope B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.